Chief Manger receives award

Chief Thomas Manger COURTESY PHOTOThe County Police Chief on Monday received recognition from the Anti-Defamation League for his years of distinguished public service, with the ADL William and Naomi Gorowitz Institute Service Award.

“Chief [J. Thomas] Manger’s commitment to the highest ethical standards, to transparency, and accountability, and to building a department that reflects the diversity of the community it serves has fostered trust throughout the country,” said Adam Gerry, who presented Manger with the award.“He is nationally recognized for his work building bridges with the Muslim and immigrant communities.”

Montgomery County officers participate in Anti-Defamation League training – the ADL’s Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust training program. The ADL runs the program in conjunction with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Lessons of the Holocaust program examines the role of the police under the Nazis and effects of that history on present-day law enforcement, with a focus on how U.S. law enforcement can preserve the principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Founded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League is an international organization considered to be a leader in combatting anti-Semitism and hate. It educates law enforcement officers on hate crimes, offers anti-bias education for students, and works to pursue “equal rights for all.”

Gerry presented Manger with the award during the ADL National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., which is attended by hundreds of the League’s leaders and activists from across the country.

Gerry’s father, Alan Gerry, created the award and the ADL William and Naomi Gorowitz Institute on Terrorism and Extremism, naming them in memory of his late parents.

Manger has worked in law enforcement for 41 years, starting in Fairfax County’s police departments and working his way up to chief in 1998, then moving on to become head of the Montgomery County Police Department in 2004.

The ADL William and Naomi Gorowitz Institute on Terrorism and Extremism offers training and educational opportunities to law enforcement personnel, with the goal of driving the fight against terrorism.

Former Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey and former Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Cathy L. Lanier are among the several previous recipients of the award.